Institutions went on a selling spree, shedding a net 279.1 billion won worth of local shares. Foreigners picked up a net 178.8 billion won and retail investors bought a net 72.5 billion won.

“Amid a lack of fresh market-moving leads, investor sentiment was swayed by developments of trade friction between the United States and China,” said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump instructed his aides to proceed with tariffs on nearly $200 billion worth of Chinese products despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s recent attempts to resume trade talks with Beijing, according to U.S. media reports.

There were losses across the board, with tech, steel and chemicals leading the fall.

The secondary Kosdaq fell 6.03 points, or 0.72 percent, to 828.88. The tech and bio-heavy index closed in negative terrain for the first time in five sessions, dragged down by institutional and foreign selling of shares amid weakened investor sentiment.

The local currency closed at 1,126.60 won against the U.S. dollar, up 10.00 won from the previous session’s close. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year bonds gained 0.7 basis points to 1.97 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds also increased 0.7 basis points to 2.32 percent.